We are painfully aware of the profound distress, sadness, and anger that many are feeling, not only from the coronavirus and the economic devastation in its wake, but also from the unbearable burden of bearing witness to state-sanctioned killings, anti-Black violence, and attacks on the free press. We also recognize that all of these things disproportionately affect communities of color—in east central Illinois and across the nation.
We say the names of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor.
We profoundly regret that Krannert Art Museum cannot be open right now to folks in person to serve as a laboratory to explore ideas, a sanctuary for solace and reflection, and a civic center for exploring difficult ideas with dignity and respect. We will do our best to use our digital platforms to do this work.
As one small step, over the next weeks, we will explore works of art that confront the racist systems of oppression at work in this moment as well as reflect on works that will propel us forward, with hope.
We begin with:
Barbara Jones-Hogu
America
from Student Independent 8
1968
Serigraph
Gift of George M. Irwin
1982-11-14.5
Jon L. Seydl
Krannert Art Museum Director
May 31, 2020
See KAM's work to draw attention to art and museum practices that address racism and oppression, including interrogating KAM’s own history in relation to these subjects on Instagram @kamillinois and Facebook @kamillinois.
